Chapter 34: Suspicion (2)

Suck? Suck what?

Han-seong was momentarily taken aback.

Then Ji-hye’s sharp canine teeth came into view, and he soon understood her meaning.

‘Ah, she’s asking if she can suck my blood?’

It made sense, since she had just become a vampire.

His guess was correct. Ji-hye, who had been hesitating, whispered with an awkward smile:

“Um, actually, I thought about taking just a little sip while you were asleep, Mage…”

“…Pardon?”

“But a notification appeared saying it was impossible without the master’s permission. So I was waiting for you to wake up.”

Hmm? Master?

The moment he heard those words, suddenly the mark engraved on his left palm flashed once.

Han-seong reflexively looked at it, and soon information about the mark appeared.

[Contract: Blood Imprint]

-Can create vassals from vampire races.

-Vassals cannot move without periodic provision of small amounts of blood, and if this period is maintained for a long time, they fall into a dormant state.

▷Maximum number of vassals: 1/3

▶Vassal contract cooldown: 180 days

Creates vassals from vampire races.

And Ji-hye had turned into a vampire by consuming the incomplete blood fruit.

‘Ah, so that’s why earlier…’

The reason it said a subordinate relationship would be established if the blood contract succeeded was because of that effect?

Now the question was finally resolved.

Just then, another sound was heard.

Grumble!

It was a sound from Ji-hye’s stomach.

Han-seong turned his head and soon discovered Ji-hye looking at him with a pitiful expression.

“I understand. I’ll give you some.”

“Really?”

Honestly, being sucked was a bit burdensome.

It’s not like being bitten by a mosquito, and this would be his first experience being sucked by a vampire.

And if he offered his neck and too much blood was taken, that would be troublesome too. As he pondered, Han-seong picked up a glass shard lying nearby.

Scratch!

The skin on his index finger tore and a wound appeared.

Soon a bright drop of blood formed.

Han-seong smiled without realizing it.

‘I’ve changed quite a bit too.’

Not long ago, he would have hesitated to even inflict a wound on his own finger. Is it because he’s been through life-and-death situations? This much doesn’t bother him at all now.

Han-seong held out his injured hand to Ji-hye.

“Let’s try a little bit at a time for now.”

“Okay! Can I lick it?”

He nodded silently.

Ji-hye approached as if she had been waiting for this and stuck out her tongue. The moment her tongue, which somehow seemed a bit longer, brushed the tip of his finger.

Han-seong furrowed his brow.

‘It’s cold.’

Like it had been dipped in ice water and taken out.

This made him realize once again that Ji-hye was no longer human, but had become a vampire.

Meanwhile, after licking the drop of blood that had formed on his fingertip, Ji-hye suddenly shuddered. Then she fell backwards with a thud.

“Huh…?”

“What’s wrong?”

“My, my body suddenly went limp…”

Her body had stiffened.

Ji-hye barely managed to turn her head, and now even that seemed difficult.

What’s going on now?

Just as he was feeling puzzled, a notification message appeared before both Han-seong and Ji-hye’s eyes.

[Synchronization with the vassal begins.]

[Time remaining until completion]: 9 minutes 59 seconds

▷Synchronization only occurs once initially.

▷Once synchronization begins, the vassal cannot move their body until it is complete.

‘Synchronization?’

What’s good about doing that?

Han-seong tilted his head.

He wasn’t sure what it all meant, but one thing was certain – Ji-hye wouldn’t be able to move for the next 10 minutes.

It seems she can’t even speak either.

‘Well then, might as well look over the loot.’

There’s nothing else to do while waiting anyway.

Han-seong examined the notifications he hadn’t been able to look at earlier while saving Ji-hye. The first thing that caught his eye was the achievement notification.

[You have achieved a new accomplishment.]

[Achievement]: First Hero

[Condition 1]: World’s first subjugation of a Champion monster

[Condition 2]: Solo contribution of 50% or more

[Reward]: VIP Auction Item Instant Purchase Ticket

What’s VIP auction?

Is it different from limited items? He wasn’t sure what it was, but decided to keep it. Unlike the limited item purchase ticket, there was no particular usage time limit.

Han-seong looked at the next achievement.

[Achievement]: One-Man Army

[Condition]: Obtain 80% or more solo contribution when subjugating a Champion monster

[Reward]: 5,000 Coins, Skillbook: Mark

It was an achievement and reward similar to when he had subjugated the Collector in the past. Back then, he had also received a small amount of coins and the Detection skillbook.

‘So this time it’s a similar skill?’

Han-seong examined the Mark skillbook.

A skill that allows monitoring and tracking the target’s every move for the duration when used on a specific person.

It seemed like a skill that wouldn’t hurt to learn, so he acquired it without hesitation.

[You have acquired Mark.]

[Acquisition target: Remote Support Mage]

[The skill will be modified to fit the job.]

[Remote: Mark (Lv.4)]

-Marks a specific person existing on the map. The marked target shares their current location in real-time, while simultaneously providing the owner with precise observation functionality of the surrounding area.

▷Effective Range: 6.0km

▷Mana Cost: 300

▷Duration: 12 hours

▷Cooldown: 24 hours

“Oh, this is quite useful.”

Not only monitoring every move, but also providing precise observation functionality.

And the duration is quite long too.

It’s perfect for using on someone you’re curious about or need to keep an eye on.

‘Come to think of it, there is someone I want to monitor…’

Han-seong looked towards the southeast sky.

The direction of the shopping mall where Ha-eun’s group was staying.

After being lost in thought for a moment, he refocused on his original task.

‘Next is the loot.’

Excluding the Blood Imprint and incomplete blood fruit, what remained was the Vampire Tree seed.

And the Skillbook: Mana Drain.

He decided to examine the seed first.

[Name]: Vampire Tree Seed

[Description]: A seed separated from the root core.

-The seed germinates when fed a certain amount of blood.

-It cannot exhibit any abilities until it grows to full maturity, but once fully mature, it can use all the skills of the Vampire Tree.

[Current Stage]: 1/9 stages

“Uh…”

The Vampire Tree seed was a loot item with effects similar to the Gu Poison Egg he possessed.

However, unlike the Gu Poison Egg which only required mana injection, the seed needed to be fed blood.

‘It needs to be fed 10 liters?’

If it’s 10 liters just for stage 1, how much blood would be needed for the stages above that?

Just as he was sighing at the thought of having obtained something with no apparent use, a thought occurred to him.

‘Wait a minute.’

It just says to feed it blood, but doesn’t specify whose blood. Doesn’t that mean it doesn’t necessarily have to be human blood?

What if he could feed it the blood of zombies or other monsters? Then it wouldn’t be useless.

In fact, it might even reach full maturity faster than the Gu Poison Egg. After all, Han-seong hunts an enormous number of monsters every day.

‘Let’s experiment with it soon.’

Han-seong carefully stored the seed.

Afterwards, he examined the last loot item, the Mana Drain skillbook. As the name suggests, it was a skill that absorbs the target’s energy and converts it to mana.

It was like a godsend for Han-seong, who was always short on mana. So he acquired it without hesitation.

[Remote: Mana Drain (Lv.4)]

-Steals energy from all beings within designated coordinates and converts it to mana, then absorbs it. However, the effect is halved for targets with a higher level than the user.

▷Effective Range: 8.0km

▷Steal Range: 400m

▷Energy Absorption Amount: 40% of maximum

▷Cooldown: 12 hours

▶Alignment: Neutral-Evil

“Huh? There’s no mana cost?”

Perhaps because it’s a skill that absorbs energy.

There was no cost required to activate Mana Drain. Only a cooldown existed.

‘The energy absorption amount is quite substantial too.’

Although the long cooldown was a drawback, he was satisfied with having gained another means of recovering mana in urgent situations.

However, there was one thing that bothered him.

‘Alignment? What’s this?’

An alignment category that didn’t exist for other skills. Puzzled, he tried touching that category, but no detailed explanation appeared.

Han-seong furrowed his brow.

But soon after, as if it didn’t matter, he shrugged his shoulders.

‘Well, I’ll probably figure it out as I use it.’

There’s no need to satisfy his curiosity right away.

Just as he finished all his tasks.

[Synchronization complete.]

▷From now on, you can receive some of the effects of the unique skills possessed by the vassal.

Ji-hye sat up again.

“Phew, now I can move my body again.”

“That’s good. Do you feel any different?”

“Hmm, other than my body feeling a bit lighter overall… Oh! I got a skill.”

“A skill?”

“Yes. It says I got a unique vampire skill, and I was wondering if we could share the screen if we hold left hands like before?”

Come to think of it, that makes sense.

Han-seong held Ji-hye’s left hand.

“How is it?”

“Your guess was right.”

He grinned. As Ji-hye had said, three unique vampire skills were visible.

Han-seong decided to examine them one by one.

[Unique: Blood Aura]

-The aura’s blessing is applied to all allies in a subordinate relationship with the skill holder.

▷Effect Range: 10m radius

▷Regeneration Amplification: +300%

▷Energy Recovery: 3 per second

▶Immune to all curse and illusion-type skills

‘Energy recovers by 3 per second?’

Han-seong’s eyes widened.

This was truly amazing.

If mana really recovers by 3 per second, it means he could maintain the flames of Tinder without any mana consumption when using just that skill.

‘And there’s no duration either.’

In other words, as long as he’s within 10 meters of Ji-hye, it’s constantly maintained.

Plus the effect of being immune to curse and illusion-type skills. Han-seong smiled with satisfaction at this skill that seemed quite good.

[Unique: Dark Veil]

-A veil forms around the vampire.

The veil has strong resistance to all skills belonging to the darkness attribute. This is also effective for all allies within the veil’s range.

▷Veil Effective Range: 5m radius

▷All Dark Magic Resistance: +70%

▷All Necromancy Resistance: +70%

▶Immune to status effects: Sleep, Petrification, Parasite

The second unique skill he examined.

At that moment, Ji-hye, who had been reading the skill’s effects ahead of Han-seong, let out a sincere exclamation.

“Wow, this looks pretty good.”

She had her gaze fixed on the effect at the bottom of the skill. Then she suddenly frowned and shuddered.

“I especially like the immunity to the parasite status effect. I’d rather not experience that kind of pain again. Ugh…”

Han-seong made an awkward expression.

Now there was one unique skill left. Han-seong and Ji-hye examined the skill together.

[Unique: Vampirism]

-Consume the target’s blood to slightly enhance physical abilities. When consuming the master’s blood in a subordinate relationship, physical abilities are greatly increased temporarily.

▶Special functions will be unlocked as level increases.

-[Vassal Creation], [Minion Creation]

A skill symbolic of vampires.

Han-seong focused particularly on the explanation that physical abilities are greatly increased when the vassal consumes the master’s blood.

“You said there were no changes to your physical abilities earlier, right?”

“Yes, other than my body feeling a bit lighter…”

“Then would you like to try jumping?”

“Jumping? Just a moment.”

Ji-hye stepped back.

Han-seong adjusted his posture, and after a while, she jumped with all her might from where she was standing.

And…

Whoosh!

She flew through the air.

At a glance, it was over 8 meters high.

A moment later, Ji-hye landed back where she had been with an expression of clear bewilderment.

“Uh, um…”

“It seems like more than just a little change.”

“Y-yeah. I didn’t expect to be able to jump this high…”

Ji-hye laughed awkwardly.

Watching her, Han-seong pointed to the wall leading to the master bathroom.

“Would you like to try hitting that as a test?”

“You, you want me to hit the wall?”

“You don’t have to hit it hard.”

“Ugh, it looks like it might hurt…”

Ji-hye walked to the wall.

After taking a deep breath, she clenched her fist and tapped the wall with a cute yell.

“Heeyah.”

Thud! Crash!

The wall collapsed.

Han-seong was at a loss for words as he looked at Ji-hye, and Ji-hye also stared at it blankly.

Although Ji-hye herself said she didn’t feel particularly different, this level of change certainly warranted the description of greatly enhanced physical abilities.

‘I’ll have to experiment more later.’

How much power comes out when hitting with full force, how long the duration is, and so on.

If the conditions are good, she might be able to perform as well as or even better than the Collector.

Just as he was smiling with satisfaction.

The familiar sound was heard again.

This time it came from Han-seong’s stomach.

“You need to eat too, Mage.”

“Yes, but…”

How to move?

The Collector is in hibernation, and the wheelchair has turned into a pile of scrap metal. Should he use the Warp Gate right in front of him? As he was pondering.

Han-seong’s body floated up into the air.

Ji-hye had picked him up in her arms.

“I’ll carry you.”

“No, just giving me a piggyback ride would be…”

“Hehe, don’t be shy!”

Ji-hye grinned and turned around.

“Let’s go back. To our home.”

“…Yes, let’s go back.”

Han-seong nodded.

He was certainly quite tired. He felt like he just wanted to sleep soundly, even without eating.

‘And after resting well…’

There’s something separate he needs to investigate.

Now that he’s obtained the Mark skill, he should be able to look into it relatively easily. Having finished his thoughts, Han-seong spread his palm towards the ruined room.

[Warp Gate has been installed.]

[Time remaining until disappearance: 30 minutes]

The Warp Gate that appeared in an instant.

Han-seong returned to the officetel where he had originally been staying with Ji-hye. The incapacitated Collector would be moved separately by Ji-hye later.

And so the night of fierce battle came to an end.

The next morning.

The morning after the fierce battle ended.

The scene at Kangil Girls’ High School after sunrise was horrific, as if it had been hit by a bomb. Corpses were strewn everywhere, testifying to the fierce battle of the previous day.

The command center began sorting out the survivors and cleaning up, while also investigating the extent of damage from the battle.

And in the evening, the tally results came in.

72 dead.

145 injured.

Only half of the injured were even able to move. This level of damage could be considered close to annihilation.

Moreover, of the eight members of the command center, only three remained. The atmosphere in the command center was filled with gloom and despair at these worst-case results.

“…This concludes the briefing.”

Oh Suho, a level 13 Paladin.

The young pastor who had been a theology teacher before the Upheaval reported the current situation with a sigh.

The three men and women sitting across from Suho also wore grim expressions.

Jeong Minsu, a level 13 Lumberjack.

Kim Mi-young, a level 11 Purification Mage.

Park Young-cheol, a level 10 Axe Warrior.

Among the three, only Minsu and Mi-young were part of the command center.

Young-cheol was close to being an outsider, but he was able to attend this meeting due to his merit of fighting alongside the command center from beginning to end in this battle.

“…The damage is too great, even considering how bad it is.”

“I think it’s because the Cannibal Flowers first fell in the gymnasium, so the damage was even greater.”

The gymnasium was a place where many non-combatants with low levels were staying. So the initial response failed, and many casualties occurred.

“It’s fortunate that the Cannibal Flowers retreated during the battle… If we had fought to the end, we might have really been wiped out.”

In the middle of the ongoing battle.

The monsters, the Cannibal Flowers that had attacked Kangil Girls’ High School, suddenly looked towards the direction of Konkuk University and then turned around and retreated like the ebbing tide.

Mi-young shuddered as she recalled that moment. As if she didn’t even want to think about it.

“Sigh, how on earth did this happen…”

“It’s because of the root of all this trouble, of course.”

“Huh? Root of the trouble, what do you mean…”

“I’m talking about the Mage of Fire Thunder!”

Bang!

Minsu, who had slammed his fist on the desk, stood up from his seat. He growled in a low voice, grinding his teeth.

“If only the Mage hadn’t proposed the subjugation, if only we hadn’t sent out the investigation team yesterday, the front line wouldn’t have been pushed back this far!”

Minsu ranted heatedly.

Mi-young and Suho kept their mouths shut.

As if they couldn’t deny his assertion. But at that moment, Young-cheol, who had been keeping his mouth tightly shut until now, suddenly raised his hand.

“May I say something too?”

“This is purely my personal opinion, but the Mage you all met might not be the Mage of Fire Thunder.”

“…What?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Minsu’s eyebrow twitched.

Mi-young and Suho also looked at Young-cheol as if to say what nonsense he was suddenly spouting.

Faced with three pairs of eyes.

Young-cheol continued his answer.

“The Mage of Fire Thunder I met never dealt with talking zombies. Rather, he controlled a peculiar monster that lacked language abilities.”

“Isn’t it possible that he controlled both the peculiar monster and zombies together?”

Mi-young immediately rebutted.

Young-cheol shook his head.

“Probably not.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“If it was as you say, he would have sent talking zombies when we first met. But the Mage sent a representative.”

“…A representative?”

“Yes, someone who communicated with us on behalf of the Mage. As I said before, the monster controlled by the Mage couldn’t use language.”

Young-cheol explained the situation he had experienced and about the Mage’s representative. After finishing his explanation, he presented one more piece of evidence.

“And you said the Mage you mentioned came to Kangil Girls’ High School around noon yesterday, right? To discuss the subjugation of the Vampire Tree.”

“That’s correct. But why…”

“When I crossed Jamsil Bridge yesterday, it was also around noon. At that time, we crossed the bridge under the Mage’s cover.”

Suho’s eyes widened.

Minsu had a similar reaction. On the other hand, Mi-young voiced her objection again this time.

“He could do both at the same time, couldn’t he?”

“You’re saying he could discuss subjugation with you all while single-handedly dealing with hundreds of monsters?”

“Well, that…”

Had she been stumped?

Mi-young, who had been chewing her lips, closed her mouth.

Meanwhile, Minsu and Suho silently mulled over Young-cheol’s words.

“…It is a bit strange, certainly.”

“That’s true. We spent at least 30 minutes talking with the Mage through the zombie yesterday. It does seem difficult to do both at the same time.”

Suho recalled the events of noon yesterday.

At that time, the command center had a long conversation for about 30 minutes with the person who identified himself as the Mage.

There had been no interruptions during that time, so Suho thought it was practically impossible to perform both actions simultaneously.

“But if the person we met wasn’t the Mage of Fire Thunder, then who was he?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“What do you mean?”

“However, the Mage might know. So why don’t we all go to see the Mage tomorrow and ask?”

If we explain the situation sufficiently, we might be able to get the answer we want. Young-cheol, looking towards Jamsil Bridge, soon spoke to everyone.

“About who it was that impersonated the Mage and tried to trap everyone.”